Shadows of Absalom

Adventures in the Big City

Brief History

Founded 4,700 years ago and designed by the god Aroden himself, Absalom is a hub of mercantile and spiritual activity. Traders come from all over the globe to sell their wares in the City at the Center of the World, while those hoping to become gods work up their courage to attempt the Test of the Starstone. Many armies have tried to conquer Absalom, but the city has never fallen. Thrown into chaos since the death of Aroden, the island city fights to maintain its independence and prestige as a shining beacon of civilization. The importance and influence of Absalom upon the Inner Seaand the whole of Golarion cannot be overstated. The city not only holds a key strategic position for both commercial and military endeavors in the region, but encompasses the site of the ascension of four deities and claims to have been founded by none other than the Last Azlanti, the god Aroden. It is not without reason that the passage of time throughout the Inner Sea regionis counted in Absalom Reckoning.

Founded in 1 AR by the god Aroden when he raised the Starstone from the depths of the Inner Sea, there is nothing ordinary about Absalom's history even from its very first day in existence. Its whole-cloth creation allowed for a quick inhabitation and Aroden tasked the best and bravest from throughout Inner Sea region to protect the Starstone and prevent any from moving it.

But given Absalom's tactical position in the middle of countless trade routes and its undeniable influence, many ambitious nations or greedy warlords have set their sights upon the walls of the city over the millennia, and the guarding of the city and the Starstone within has never been easy. For the past four millennia, the city has been besieged by one army after another, in an attempt to bring Absalom to its knees and wrest control of it from all others. Despite the relentless onslaught, the city has never fallen. Relics of these ongoing wars still litter the plains of the Island of Kortos surrounding the city (known as the Cairnlands) and sunken warships clutter the harbor.